DOLE Batangas Provincial Office and Provincial Government of Batangas collaborate in the implementation of Republic Act No. 10361, “An Act Instituting Policies for the Protection and Welfare of Domestic Workers” simply known as “Batas Kasambahay”. This was the main agenda during the Monthly Meeting of the Public Employment Service Officers (PESOs) hosted by DOLE-BPO on 26 June 2013 at Jamayca Bldg., Ayala Highway, Lipa City, Batangas.

The 39 participants from the 25 local government unit PESOs and 3 University PESOs were given orientation by Director Predelma M. Tan on the salient features of the Act, the rights and privileges of both the Kasambahay, rights and obligations of the employer and the roles of the different government agencies and units and its counterparts such as Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth) and Pagtutulungan sa Kinabukasan: Ikaw, Bangko, Industria at Gobyerno (Pag-IBIG).

The group cohesively identified to meet first with the Association of Barangay Chairmen (ABC) as the best strategy to implement smoothly the Batas Kasambahay, specifically on the registration of all Kasambahays in the Province. In coordination with Department of Interior and Local Government together with SSS, Philhealth and Pag-IBIG, the initial orientation and registration shall be held in the Municipality of Taysan.

The meeting was also an opportunity to present the respective PESO’s accomplishments for the first semester of 2013 in preparation for the Mid-Year Planning and Assessment in July. Two newly designated PESO Managers, from the Municipalities of Balayan and Calatagan, were also welcomed by the group.

Skills Registry System (SRS)

Ten PESO Staff/SRS Coordinators also participated in the Provincial SRS validation held on the same day. The system was assessed based on the tool being provided by the Bureau of Local Employment to assess the effectiveness of the system. The SRS Coordinators from the first 3 waves (1st wave – City of Batangas; 2nd wave – City of Tanauan and Municipality of Rosario; 3rd wave – Municipalities of Lemery and Malvar) identified issues and challenges encountered and made recommendations to help improve its 4th wave implementation in the Municipalities of Agoncillo and Alitagtag.

It was also learned during the meeting that SRS implementation in Rosario, Batangas has made way to Ms. Michelle Ungria, a resident of Barangay Namuco in the said Municipality, to land a job in Procter and Gamble Philippines, Laguna Branch.